


Interlude

by indiavolowetrust



Category: Little Nightmares (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-23 00:08:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30046911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indiavolowetrust/pseuds/indiavolowetrust
Summary: "Don't go where I can't follow. Please."
Relationships: Mono & Six (Little Nightmares), Mono/Six (Little Nightmares)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 154





	Interlude

There was fear in her once. There must have been such a time, Six believes, before the world went to hell and there were no more sane adults to tell her to not to use that kind of language. Once upon a time – when Six had an actual name that she can’t quite remember anymore, a warm bed, and a complete lack of that damned, insatiable hunger – that childlike fear would be ever present. Monsters under the bed, ghouls in the shadows, and ghosts in the closet. She has skeletons in hers now, but every once in a while she likes to think that those little nightmares will come back to haunt her. Being imprisoned by that mad hunter for weeks on end, scrounging and fighting other kids her age for a scrap of meat, stealing clothing from the bodies of the dead – just a bit fear would have done her good. A reminder of brighter, better days.

Then there was the Thin Man with his static-filled, dispassionate gaze. The tower. The cracking of flesh and bone, body and spirit, as the tower warped her into something less than human – and suddenly she wished she had never hoped to experience fear ever again.

And maybe that’s why she can’t help but stare back at Mono. Dark eyes catching Mono’s stormy, static-filled ones. His static-filled ones. Those belonging to that man who had so easily imprisoned her in that hellish tower, screams and cries be damned, her body twisting and contorting into an unnatural shape – and even now –

_Even now._

She hesitates.

 _Even now,_ _his hand is so, so warm._

Mono only returns her gaze with that horrible, idiotic faith that she’s come to know all too well. That trust that Six has seen too many children fall victim to. Wary or not, strong or weak, cunning or absolutely stupid – after all this time, Six still can’t decide what he is. The tower roars and swells around them. Their salvation lingers beyond.

 _I could drop him,_ she thinks, _and this would all be over. Everything would. If only_ _the Thin Man_ _didn’t exist, then_ _…_

But that stupid trust never wanes. Her resolve crumbles.

* * *

The Pale City stands before them in all of its grandeur, the various lights and screens of the dilapidated city-scape gazing upon them from beyond. While Mono can’t put his finger on it – there’s little to his power that makes sense to him, really – he knows more than anything else that the Transmission is screaming. Or, rather, whatever dwells in it is. The monster screams in rage, the Viewers cry out in anguish, and whatever else lies within the city follows suit. The thin man is gone, he’s sure, but the victory feels almost empty. Bitter. That irrevocable, inexplicable influence that had drawn him there is gone, as if someone had carved out a part of his essence and left him wanting. Was there ever a time when he wasn’t compelled to seek out the Pale City? Was he only ever a slave to his whims, like the Patients and the Viewers? If he really was born in this city, then is his fate hopelessly tied to theirs? Would he ever hurt –

 _No._ Mono shakes his head, turning away from the grotesque sight. He takes a step down the hill. _I would never hurt her._

Six flinches – no, shivers – when he reaches for her hand, and he offers her his best reassuring smile when he laces his fingers with hers. The deluge must have already soaked her to the bone, in spite of her raincoat. He finds himself peeling off his own tattered coat to drape over her shoulders. A both dead and useless gesture, maybe, but he remembers seeing it on a screen once. Reading it in a book. If Six knows the meaning of it, she doesn’t mind.

Together, they walk into a yawning forest.

* * *

Six startles awake in Mono’s embrace in the heart of an oak, the storm unrelenting beyond the confines of the wood. Not that her stomach would care, anyway. That hunger – _god, the fucking hunger_ – plagues her more than the nightmares of the tower and the thin man ever could, gnawing at the marrow of her bones. Eating her inside and out. Consuming whatever remains of her sanity in the most wretched manner possible. Despite the noise – or maybe because of it, considering everything else about him – Mono seems to be completely undisturbed by the noise. Six’s chin is buried into the crook of his neck and shoulder. His arms are latched perfectly and protectively around her, keeping her warm. A dark lock of hair tickles her nose.

She wouldn’t have minded otherwise, she realizes begrudgingly. If the past few weeks have been any indication, she wouldn’t have minded at all. Even if Mono was the thin man at some point, what he had done before to save her was undeniable, as is what he does now to keep the both of them alive. She couldn’t forget that.

Chivalry, an older kid told her once. Something that boys did when they liked you.

It happens the moment she untangles herself from Mono, and she all but throws herself towards the exit. Her teeth elongate. Her eyes adjust to what had been an impenetrable night. Her nails become more akin to claws. Bile bubbles in her stomach. Her body hits a moss-covered log hard when she finally forces herself away from their shelter and Mono – _a source of food,_ something bestial whispers to her, _how could you waste it?_ – and into the forest, willing her small legs to carry her as far they can. As quickly as they can. Her heartbeat rings in her ears, joining a cacophony of others.

A rustle of leaves in a den catches her attention. A mouse. She lets her teeth sink into it without a second thought.

* * *

Mono smiles at her when she returns in the morning, ignoring the scent of death and blood that hangs around her. Her portion of meat, as always, is yet to be cooked by their meager fire.

* * *

It’s only after a few weeks that Six realizes that Mono has never asked where their destination is exactly, nor has he asked if he’s welcome to come along. A struggle, that. As much as she wants to tell him to leave, to leave her to her endless hunger and nightmares, she can’t. The thought of never seeing him again is as unthinkable and unpleasant as the thought of losing her right hand. Her first and only friend. Her selfless and stupid and careless Mono, who would probably follow her to the end of the world if she let him.

The scent of salt grows with each day that passes, and Six knows that she’ll have to let go of him eventually. The Maw – if it truly is everything that it says it is, then she’ll have no choice. Not after everything she’s done to hide her hunger from him.

She’ll come back and find him one day, she decides.

* * *

Waves crash against the rocky shore, the sound of a nearby foghorn nearly drowning out the sound. The ship and its contents will depart soon, Mono knows, as will Six if he doesn’t stop her now. Despite knowing just how much of a futile effort it is – Six is nothing if not willful – Mono can’t help but race towards her, the soles of his bare feet bleeding freely onto the sharp rocks. The clamor of dockworkers and other adults rumbles in the distance. Six pauses before the open suitcase. Contemplating her decision, Mono hopes. Weighing her options.

It takes a moment, but Six finally meets his gaze. The question is silent.

 _I can help you,_ Mono wants to say. His chest still heaves from both the run and the panic from waking up alone. _I_ _can help you. I_ _would do anything for you, if you let me._

It was his fault, after all. If he were strong enough to save her that time – no, if he hadn’t opened that dumb door and made her hurt in the worst ways possible – then she wouldn’t be dealing with the aftermath of what she had become. What she might become, if she were to continue on like this. Six glances impatiently in the direction of the dock once more, their journey together evidently coming an end more quickly than he had thought. Not that he had wanted it to ever end, that is.

 _I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry._ Mono’s hands ball into fists, and for once his bravery has met its match. _We can figure this out together, and everything will be okay. I’ll fix it._ _I’ll make everything better, and then we can go somewhere far away together. Somewhere safe, I’ll make sure of it. Just the two of us._ _I’ll fix everything, I promise._

Instead he says, “Don’t go where I can’t follow. Please.”

His voice is so hoarse and small and weak that he can’t help but feel shame the moment the words leave his mouth, and it only heightens when he sees the unabashed astonishment on Six’s face. It’s the first time he’s ever demanded anything of her, he realizes. He doesn’t know if that’s a good or bad thing. Six lets go of the suitcase, letting it slam shut, and for a moment he thinks she’s about to rush him.

But there’s only the weight of her small body as she jumps onto Mono and flings her arms around him. He stumbles once, twice. The scent of blood and death that surrounds her is somehow comforting now, warm and familiar – although maybe that’s because this might be the last time he’ll be able to see her. To hold her hand and pretend that he can shield her from the world when he can’t. The embrace is painfully brief – her breath tickling his ear, an almost unspoken promise, the fleeting sensation of her lips against his cheek – and Mono wishes that it could last forever.

It doesn’t, of course. A moment more, then she is gone.

* * *

“Wait for me,” Mono echoes to no one but himself, although he can’t quite get the impression from her typical mutism just right. The spot she had pressed her lips upon on his cheek still burns, even days later. He finds himself drawing a hand to it, willing the sensation to last forever, and uses the other to stoke the flames of his campfire. “Wait for me.”

The Pale City looms over him like the maw of some monster, beckoning him once more into his clutches, but he’s prepared this time. The world will be a better place by the time Six returns from her own journey. It’s the least he can do. Even if he has to travel from city to city to destroy the influence of the Signal Tower and its accomplices, he would gladly do it for her. Even if it takes years and Six has yet to come back running into his arms like she did that day, Mono is no less determined. Six’s word is not one to be taken likely, after all. Mono knows just how willful she is better than anyone else.

_Wait for me._

And so he does.

**Author's Note:**

> The ending to LN2 broke me, so here's something that fixes my heart a little. Thanks for reading!


End file.
